University Hospital opens Grovetown office

Dr. Jennifer Herbert (center) stands in front of the new University Medical Group Grovetown with medical assistants Lisa McGrew (left) and Jackie Trapp. It is the first clinic of its kind in Grovetown.

A small University Health Care practice that recently opened in Grovetown is a precursor of expanding medical services in the fast-growing area.

Physicians Jennifer Herbert and Julie Hicks staff the primary care office at 5176 Wrightsboro Road as plans progress for University Hospital to build an outpatient center near Interstate 20.

“What they really want to do is just help people establish a medical home close to their home,” University spokeswoman Rebecca Sylvester said of Herbert and Hicks. “They love the community out there, and they wanted specifically to be out in Grovetown.”

They aren’t the only ones: Centers for Primary Care also recently purchased property for a new health care facility at the Gateway Center on Lewiston Road near I-20, with plans for opening in 2013. The owners of the new Barney’s Pharmacy in Grovetown also plan to open a clinic next year.

University Hospital purchased six acres near the Grovetown Walmart for $900,000 in February.

“This is just the first, temporary location that we could put out in Grovetown until we decide the big picture of what’s going to be on the property,” Sylvester said.

Though no construction timeline has been established, the property will be used for outpatient services, which could include a medical practice, prompt care center and diagnostic testing, Sylvester said.

“Those are the kinds of things that you really want to start with, what the community needs, and then you build from there,” she said.

Grovetown residents can take advantage of University’s services at the Wrightsboro Road location for as long as it takes the project to be completed, Sylvester said.

Herbert and Hicks will see patients by appointment or on a walk-in basis at the new office, named University Medical Group Grovetown. The center is open from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Friday. Appointments can be made by calling (706) 393-3570.